Make a wish
by IreneRays
Summary: Dante finds himself in the middle of an explotion in Saudi Arabia and ends up with a special boy, Kasim. He decides to take care of him and give him a home and a family, but one day, Kasim's secret will get them into a dangerous adventure, during which his secret will be revealed.
1. Chapter 1

**A secret buried**

Dante walked down the streets of Al-Rabwah district of the city Hafar Al-Batin in Saudi Arabia. He was heading the foundation's HQ nearby, which happen to be the only one in Saudi Arabia, since the war gives seekers a hard time keeping their secrecy, yet they maintain a healthy professional relationship with military members and manage to preserve a remarkable amount of activities in the country.  
He breathed in the dry air, not filling his lunges entirely, but enough for him to heave a sigh of exhaustion. Just a few hours ago, he was on a mission, which fortunately was successfully finished with the help of a local loyal foundation agent as a guide and consultant. A golden amulet at the shape of a star, with tiny little white gemstones resembling sand pieces as ornaments and a larger yellowish white stone in the middle of the star, was intertwined between his fingers which were stuffed in the pockets of his long yellow trench coat. It was a hard Yama titan to bond with, considering that he accents from a legend of a long lost kingdom, so it hasn't been at the hands of a seeker for quite a while, but Dante was patient and convenient enough to manage.  
Right now, miles away from where the lost kingdom is located, he is waiting patiently for a trunk to arrive and transport him to another location, 60 km from his current one, the military city of Saudi Arabia. At least that's what the pedestrians notice in his calm and preserved expression. Dante was constantly letting out mental sighs of indignation upon the delay of the soldier who was supposed to have been there half an hour ago. Dante's foot started moving up and down, hitting the pavement.  
The fact that military workers are always accurate has become a matter of doubt. Finally after what looked like eons, the trunk appeared out of the distance, making heave another sigh and take his hands out of the pockets. Out of the military car, a soldier with a classic army outfit, with dark brown hair, tanned skin, pacific blue eye color, sharp cheekbones and thin lips pursed in a perfectly straight line with huge shoulders greeted Dante's sight and made a short curt motion with his head, signaling him to get in. Dante replied with a nonchalant nob and entered the vehicle.

Skipping the otiose chit chats, the soldier started to drive to King Khalid, the military city of Saudi Arabia. As far as Dante can recall, King Khalid is a special city in northeastern Saudi Arabia, designed and built by the Middle East Division, a unit of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, in the 1970s and 1980s. The city was built to provide lodging for several brigades of Saudi troops. However, it soon got another purpose. As the engineers of United States brought the new technology to the city, the constructions got more stable and modern and also, they became the local military's last priority. Since mechanical support was no longer needed, the military members of Saudi Arabia distanced themselves from their sponsor, while keeping a few American members and taking over the whole operation, paying more attention on training their crops and building the perfect defense system. As long as reports kept being exchanged between the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the military members, which's number kept increasing, no need for an intervention in each other's business, as long as the main purpose of the collaboration was being served. Yet the past few months, the military seems distant itself even more and allow –willingly or not- scientist to intrude their business, sharing with them classified information which they shouldn't have. Of course, the biggest amount of this information is only for seekers to know, since to the world, the military city of King Khalid is only preserving a small amount of US government members and evolves its air force, with the assistance of them. Yet as a seeker, he is well aware of the alliance between the foundation and the United States Army Corps and Engineers, as they have Huntik foundations members there, and as a top agent in his generation, he was given a quest by his mentor to check on the military facilities for any movements against any of the members of their alliance. The lack of reports and classified information being spread to the world of mad science is a matter of consideration and suspicion, which was rising in Dante's head with the soldier's clearly unfriendly behavior.

During their way there, no words were exchanged between them, only to introduce themselves and the soldier named Omar kept driving in silence. Dante was never bothered by silence; in fact, he cherished it and preferred it over the loud blabbering most seekers bombard him with when they meet the top foundation agent. This guy seems to be an Arabian seeker and Dante would have been grateful to him for not worshipping his presence as if he was some kind of God –not like he thought so himself, but he has witnessed many forms of admiration and some of them were disturbing-, yet this specific silence had him on alert instead of calming him. This wasn't the silence of a respectful man, but a man who has something to hide. He didn't want to rush in conclusions though; he wasn't the kind of person to let first impressions affect him, so he just waited until they arrived, calmly examining Omar behind his golden glasses when he thought he wasn't looking.

When they arrived Dante eyed the facilities from the entrance of the electrical barriers and couldn't help but be impressed of how a country like this one can afford such well-built, stable facilities which he has only seen in the United States. Then again, they were working with US, so it shouldn't surprise him that the American engineers spread their perfectionist idealism even in the country. They passed a few armed guards in the entrance and Dante could swear that one of them growled upon noticing his presence but earned a rough, scolding look from Omar.

Omar kept guiding Dante around, until they reached their destination. As they entered the stone made building, Dante felt chills rising in his spine. It wasn't really cold in there, but something about the room made him flinch. It had many locked wooden boxes all around and three cells. At the center of it, a desk with piles of pepper work, so many that Dante could barely see the desk's surface. The windows resembled rectangle holes and were really close to the ceiling's level. Besides the army equipment and the camera's I every corner of the room, the blood in the walls –which looked fresh, Dante noted- and an injection syringe which was crawling in the door of one of the cells gave the room a non-welcoming atmosphere.

He was greeted by a group of three men in military outfits, one of them bald with a scar in his face, the other one rather short and skinny for a soldier and the third one with a very dark skin and hawk like expression. Besides them there was a woman at her 30s with caramel braided hair and aqua colored eyes, with a small nose and a kind smile, making a pleasant contradiction with the dead looking space and the sharp looks of the soldiers.

"Hello mister Vale, I am doctor Jaqueline Cody, geneticist. The military and my team have been working together for quite some time and I am here to assure you that our collaboration won't bring any complication to your alliance." She politely said and Dante merely raised an eyebrow

"I thought I would speak with major Declan. Is he one of these three gentlemen?" Dante questioned, or more likely demanded to know. Sending a second face to him only raises his suspicions; no matter how polite Doctor Cody seems to be.

"I am afraid we had some unfortunate events close to the borders and major's Declan presence was required. He gave me the task to speak to you in on his behalf. I hope this is not a problem. Besides, we both know exactly what you need to know" Doctor Cody assured him and offered him a seat besides the desk which is most likely hers. It was when he took a closer look at it that Dante noticed a mechanism under it which is probably used for scientifically research. He pretended not to notice it and looked straight into Doctor Cody's aqua eyes.

"I am all ears doctor" he said as he took a seat while kept his guard every second that ticked.

* * *

"Stop! Please stop!" a weak male voice of a child could be heard out of the small room, well-hidden on the corner of the military base near the mining cave. No one was allowed there except Doctor Cody and her comrades accompanied with her lab rats, which happened to be human and at this particular day, it was Kasim Acumen. Kasim was screaming in pain as the scientist tied him in the lab chair using black leather belts which were so tight, he could feel his blood circulation getting unstable.

He was struggling even though he knew it was pointless to get away from them. He was doing so every time and no matter all the failures he faced, he never gave up. He has to escape… he has to get back the only thing he has left from his family…

Kasim let out another scream of pain as they injected the needle of the syringe with force in his vein, a weird thick blue liquid overflowing in his system. He hisses like a reptilian as he feels it getting mixed with his blood and starts coughing from the pressure this scarred soldier have been applying on his belly to prevent him from freeing himself. But this time, Kasim was ready…

They have been repeating the same process for three months and Kasim knows exactly where they will lay their hands on and when he will be able to move his limbs. He knows that even better than them.

After the scientists pulled out the needle, the soldier holding his belly and the one holding his feet had permission to go, then the one holding his hands and he was free. The pale old man with the red shirt, the half bald head and monocle with the mischievous grin and hideous expression stood above him with his comrades standing behind him. He counted…

5…4…3…2…1…

* * *

For the past half hour, Doctor Cody has been informing Dante about the benefits of their experiments and that their goal is to make the soldier's training easier and increase their muscle strength and in return the military sponsored their project. When Dante asked about the project, Doctor Cody replied with a forced smile that she cannot explain because Dante wouldn't understand scientific terminology, an excuse which Dante found really stupid and suspicious. She just kept talking about her and her team's findings, avoiding mentioning the lack reports from the military, a matter which they could have settled a long time ago if major Declan was there. Dante held back a sigh and gathered all of his patience not to snap out of control. This day has been tiring and stressful, despite the successful retrieve of the titan, and Dante just wanted to get over with the needless talk and report to his mentor, Metz. He noticed that after a while Doctor Cody kept eyeing her watch every five minutes, which made him, guess that major Declan would arrive soon and release her from her task so that she can return back to her experiments, but it seemed unlikely. During their conversation, he had the time to recall what he saw on the news about the explosion on the borders, so he concluded that it would take him sometime to take care of some crucial issues. Instead, Doctor Cody seemed to have her own business in her mind…. And only her own business, much to Dante's despise.

"Mister Vale, would you please excuse me for a second?" Dante nobbed and she excused herself. He needed a break from all this blabbering, but he still found the whole scenario suspicious. Omar was in the room with him and the other three soldiers followed Jaqueline. Now that she was gone, Dante noticed how Omar's breathing got the slightest uneven. He was nervous, but about what?

His question was answered 10 minutes ago, when he happened to start losing his patience. One of the three soldiers –the skinny one- entered the room in a hurry. Calling him shocked would be the understatement of the year. The guy was shaking like a leaf, his eyeballs were ready to pop out of his skull and cold layers of sweat were washing his forehead. Omar immediately stood up, his expression hard and his grip got tighter around his sniper.

"Someone put a bomb in our gun storage! This place is going to explode!" the guy informed them and run away with his trembling shaky tiny feet. Omar remained his composure while Dante had a frown plastered on his face. Who would be able to get in the facilities and implant a bomb without being spotted? This place is a stronghold with well-trained soldiers; it has to be someone who knew what they were doing…

Omar wasted no time and signaled Dante to run. The men rushed through the ashy stone corridor until they found their way out. Dante scanned his surroundings and felt a hand on his soldiers.

'Follow me and you'll be safe" he said and Dante nobbed following his lead. The whole bases was crowded with people running for their lives, tryig to save everything they could from the storages and some of them even carried small kids. What were kids doing there?

Omar and Dante kept running, avoiding bumbing into anyone or let anything delay them, yet they didn't manage to reach the entrance on time. They were a few meters away and many soldiers were out, while a car was passing besides them. Omar called out to the driver to slow down and take them in but a half bald head which belonged to an old man with a monocle popped out of the window and shook his head in disapproval.

"Tsk tsk tsk! Omar Shadin! You shouldn't have done that!" The man mouthed, clearly satisfied for leaving them behind.

"You will pay for that Klaus!" Omar shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice leaking odium. After the trunk got out, the ten or fifteen soldiers that were out there closed the gates. They left them there to die! Time was running out and even though Dante could use hyper stride, he couldn't leave Omar behind.

Omar stopped on his tracks at the sound of his phone beeping in his pocket. I just stood there and watched as he picked it up while cursing this Klaus in Arabian and noticed how his expression got sad.

"No Jaqueline! I can't leave you behind!" he said with a pained expression. So he cares about Doctor Cody… he wasn't sure, but Dante could guess they might have been close. A few seconds later, Omar bit his lip and let out a sigh of frustration. "Alright, I know it has to be done this way" He then said something else in Arabian with a tightly clenched jaw and maybe it was the sun playing tricks on him and the adrenaline flowing in his blood due to the possibility of him dying there, but Dante could see tears gathering in his orbs. They didn't stay there for long though as Omar took a deep breath and came back to his senses. Now he turned to look at him with a deadly serious face and Dante observed him attentively.

"Mister Vale, I know you have many question but right now there is something that has to be done! Follow this way and turn left to the food storage, then go two times right and you will find a small facility near the miners' cave. There is a small five year old boy there and he has to get out. This is important Vale! That boy is special and I was planning to take care of him but now I am going to die"

"Omar, you don't have to. There has to be another way to save the boy without killing ourselves!" Dante knew nothing about that boy, but judging by the look on Omar's face, he must be important. Yet, he can't leave him behind, he is not that kind of person and in the end, he turned out to be his ally.

"I am afraid there is not. Just do as I say and get the boy out of here! I'll go to the gun storage and try to… make the explosion less harmful" Omar said and Dante immediately knew what he was going to do. He was planning on covering the bomb with his body…but this is just insane! What is so important about that little boy?

Dante mentally slapped himself after thinking of that question and felt stupid for doing so. Every human life is worthy and he shouldn't make discriminatory practices. Both Omar's and this boy's life is worth and he wishes there was a way to save both of them, but the look on Omar's face indicated that he won't accept any of Dante's ideas. He is determined to die to save him and the boy and the only thing Dante can do, is his best to grant Omar's death wish. With a heavy heart and efforts to keep an emotionless expression, he placed his hand on Omar's shoulder, squeezing it lightly, as a silent goodbye of two men who could have been great allies, but happened to meet under the worst circumstances. Omar shot him a reassuring look of appreciation and signaled him to get moving. Both men's ways separated as Dante followed Omar's instructions and found himself in the right building in no time.

Before he could open the door though, he felt the earth shake…it was happening! He has to find the boy fast! As if hearing his soundless thoughts, a tiny male figure, around five years old with dark skin, with royal blue big eyes, short spiky chocolate brown hair, skinny body and a swollen cheek and arm with countless bruises and poor attire rushed out of the room and bumbled on Dante's knees. The boy lifted his head to see an unfamiliar face and immediately backed off.

"W-Who are you? W-Where is O-Omar?" the little boy asked frightened and Dante hurriedly took hold of his tiny hand and started pulling him to his direction.

"There is no time for explanations kid, he sent me to get you. Now run!" Dante explained in a hurry and the boy started following him without more protesting. They hadn't even reached the middle of their destination, when the loud deafening sound of the explosion filled their ears and the military facilities dismembered and collapsed right on top of them.

* * *

After he made sure it was over, Dante called one of his titans, Metagolem, to remove the debris of buildings and rocks from the top of his Armor band. He managed to save them just in time before a huge rock could smash the little boy's head, which had crumbled to the ground besides Dante's legs and was crying non-stop while sobbing and mumbling things in Arabian that Dante wouldn't have been able to understand even if he knew the language.

The Metagolem did its job well, took them out of the debris and Dante called him back to his amulet. After scanning his surroundings and found his way out of there using only his sight, he turned to the boy who was looking behind him, where the food storage used to be. Obviously he knew Omar as well and Dante couldn't help but feel guilty for being unable to save the man. Doctor Cody and this little guy seemed to be close to him, maybe they were a family! The mere thought of that possibility only added in Dante's guilt. Omar is dead and he doesn't know if Doctor Cody has survived… this boy has no one now and it was partly his fault. He knelt beside the tiny figure which was wiping his tears with the long sleeve of his dirty moccasin lean shirt which looked like a dress on him, reaching down his knees and covering his arms. Dante placed a hand on his small bony shoulder and wondered how long has it been since he had last eaten a proper meal.

"What's your name boy?" he asked with his softest tone, causing the boy to turn to him with his large watery eyes and trembling big lips. The sight of him made Dante's heart clench. This child is so young, yet seems to have experienced terrible things and just lost some one important to him. Dante has seen monsters, he has witnessed people's deaths but none of them can be compared to the heart-breaking sight of that boy crying in the middle of the debris, looking half dead.

"I am Kasim sir" Kasim replied politely with shaky voice and eyed his savior. Something snapped in Dante, a small trace of humanity which he never puts aside. As a top seeker, he doesn't allow himself to get affected the loss of his teammates when he has one –not because he is cruel and it doesn't hurt him, but he has to do his job right- yet he felt responsible for that boy. He is not sure if it is because Omar asked him to look after Kasim or because he feel's guilty about Omar's death, but he knows this, he couldn't leave this boy alone or give him to the foster system. After all, there is something special about him, something that made Omar sacrifice himself for and Dante can't risk letting him go without protection and expose him to evil forces who might want him for his specialties. It is decided; he will take Kasim with him back to Venice and will take care of him. Looking deep into Kasim's beautiful royal big blue eyes with his amber ones, he shot him a soothing smile.

"Well Kasim, I am Dante Vale. Omar told me that you are a special boy, so I am going to get you out of here and take care of you" he sincerely promised and Kasim looked at him indifferent. He felt sad about Omar and Jaqueline, the first people who had showed him a trace of humanity and he is afraid of trusting this man, but he has no choice and he seems to have friendly intentions. Like Omar, he is offering him a hand to hold when he has no one. Kasim can only try…

Hesitant, he took the man's hand, which has been stretched out to his direction, Dante waiting patiently for him to feel safe and take it.

"Survivors!" they heard someone shout rom distance and no longer after that, they could make out human shilluetes heading to their direction. Kasim hid behind Dante's legs and tightened his grip around a big pocket attached on his shirt. Dante noticed how he has been holding it for quite a while and could only guess what he had there, but he won't ask him about him, since Kasim didn't tell him anything about it himself.

Dante kept his gaze hardly fixed on the people approaching them and his hand softly but reassuringly placed on Kasim's shoulder.

"Don't worry; I won't let anyone harm you. It will be just us from now on, ok?" Kasim looked at Dante's hard expression and knew he meant what he said. He was still frightened and shocked, but calm enough to know that no one should find him, not even if those people want to help them. He gave Dante a shaky nob and at the very next moment, they were running.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello everyone! Hope you are having a good time on planet earth! :D**

 **This is my new story "Make a wish". It doesn't follow the series, Metz is not sick and Dante has some of the titans he had in the first season. You won't see Lok and Sophie. Only Dante, Zhalia, Kasim, Klaus and other Huntik characters or OCs.**

 **Soooo, what is so special about Kasim? Who put a bomb in the military bases? Is it the same one who is responsible for the explosion in the borders? Why was Kasim a lab rat? Was Doctor Jaqueline Cody a good or a bad person after all? What was the real cause of the lack of reports and what was the real job of scientists there? What was Klaus doing there? What does Kasim hide in his pocket? Will he tell Dante about it?**

 **Stay with me and find out in the upcoming chapters~**  
 **I hope you this story is exciting and enjoyable! I would appreciate any view or review!~**

 **Lots of love from Irene Rays**


	2. Chapter 2 - Careful what you wish for

To the guest Phamalama: Nope, it's not that. The storie doesn't follow the series so things might be different. You will find out soon about Zhalia's and Kasim's relationship. Thank you for your review :)

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

 **Be Careful what you wish for**

They manage to run away back then. The heat was merciless and exhausted them. Kasim couldn't keep up with Dante, so he carried him in his back, adding to the burden he already felt dragging him down due to the strength he had used. Hopefully, a Foundation's jet was nearby and took them straight to Venice after properly treating them. The fuss occurring the past few months due to the doubts the Foundation had of military's loyalty had him on alert and had agreed to go there with back up.

Three years from back then, Dante still can't swear that he knows everything about Kasim. He is a rather quite boy and very polite to everyone, but at the same time very non-committal. For a kid who has been through so many hardships, he has the strength to smile and always welcome Dante with his glowing royal blue eyes smiling from his cheeks. He is a strong boy and Dante feels proud of that. The first year they had spent together, Metz offered to give Kasim to a seeker family who couldn't make kids and at the same time, he could train and Dante could see him whenever he likes, maybe even become his mentor someday. But Dante, feeling obliged to Omar, decided to keep him. Foundation seekers or not, he can't risk anyone learning about Kasim's special abilities, which at the very end he doesn't know himself even now. He would stay at is house longer than usual to spent time with him, get to know him, teach him Italian besides English –which he seemed to know quite well for his age- and his mother tongue Arabian, taking him for walks in the city, teaching him about the foundation and seekers, trying to make him bring his defenses down and feel safe around him. And he managed to do so…partly. While time was passing by, Kasim started to smile more often, open up bit by bit. However Dante is a top seeker and his job requires his presence, sometimes even for days. Kasim had to stay at the house with his absence for very long periods, but even then, he was still happy. He would read books, play strategy games, watch movies, and play outside, pretty much what every normal kid does, besides training to become a seeker. Since he was very young, Kasim didn't know what he liked, so he occupied himself with everything Dante showed him and eventually, Dante became his role model. Whenever they were together, they would play games, Kasim would listen to Dante's stories, they would train or go outside and when Dante had work, Kasim would either sit and watch him carefully, his bright blue eyes with the innocence in them lightening Dante's burden a bit, or play in his room.

At first, despite his willingness to keep him and take care of him, Dante wasn't exactly good with children. Working alone most of the time and living alone in such a big house with most of the people he associates with being foundation members and their conversations being work-related, he didn't get the chance to interact with kids, since he didn't wish to become a mentor or a coach. Yet Kasim wasn't a very difficult kid to handle and his inexperience didn't seem to bother him. There were many times when Dante would just stare at him and trying to find the right words and Kasim would just gaze back at him, not doing anything and somehow making this silence comfortable for Dante. Just like Kasim, Dante also became more comfortable around him and soon started to have parental feelings for the boy, accompanied with his infamous overprotectiveness and care for the people he values in his life.

They didn't need to talk much and just enjoy each other's presence. Dante would help Kasim and make him smile and with that smile, Kasim would make Dante feel a little bit lighter, no matter how bad his day might have been. He especially liked when he was on his holotome and Kasim would sit on the couch and simply look at him, his big royal blue eyes follow his every move with attentiveness and amazement.

To sum it up, those three years have been rather blissful for the both of them. However, Dante couldn't forget the day of the explosion…the day he found him. Every time he would ask Kasim questions, such as why were kids in the military? Why was he there? What were scientists doing there? What was that project they weren't telling him about? Who could have possibly been responsible for the explosion in the military bases? Kasim wouldn't answer and sometimes, Dante felt guilty for forcing him to recall those memories. During their flight to Venice, the foundation nurse had found multiple cuts in Kasim's arm near his veins and Dante didn't want to even try to imagine what they did to him.

After the explosion, the Foundation started a research to find out the ones behind this and when Dante mentioned the name Klaus, they found out that he was an Organization's mad scientist. They immediately wrecked the alliance, considering the high possibility of the Organization working with their supposed to be allies and after various of failed attempts to track down Klaus, the foundation gave up on the case and kept an eye on their base in Saudi Arabia, as well as at the HQ of the United States Army Cops and Engineers unit. Dante on the other hand couldn't give up on it. Omar's death and his last words kept replaying on his mind… He only wished he had a lead, a way to track Klaus. None of the scientist had survived, Doctor Cody included, and the soldiers remained claimed they only followed orders and were not allowed to know what the whole project was about. Major Declan disappeared as well a few days later, so Dante had no lead and his busy schedule, adding his new responsibility to take care of Kasim, did not give him time for further investigation.

The feeling of guilt was hard to carry, let alone burry it, but Kasim's presence and his expressions of gratitude, the constant warm smiles and the sweet 'Thank you' he would give Dante before the lights are off and he falls asleep, helped him manage to keep going for those three years.

Right now, there was another concern in his mind. Even though Kasim has assured him many times that he doesn't mind him missing for missions and that he understands, Dante has that strange feeling when he leaves him alone. Knowing that he might be in danger due to his special powers, which he also refuses to talk about –and in fact Dante has noticed a few…movements from the Organization to Kasim- and also worrying about him because he cares, he asked a year ago, a new Irish female seeker, Scarlet Byrne, to take care of him whenever she can. Scarlet wasn't an active seeker on the field and mostly focuses on providing information about myths and history, so he doesn't deprive her of her missions. She seems to be a very kind person with a lot of charm, despite the excessive familiarity towards him which he found rather annoying at times. At first Kasim didn't seem to like her and complained to Dante about her being rude, but stopped after a week. When he asked him if that was indeed true, he said that he was just shy, though the way he said it was not convincing enough so he kept an eye on Scarlet. However, after an entire year passed, Dante's doubt disappeared.

With her being responsible for Kasim when he was away, Dante and Scarlet had a lot of chances to talk and occasionally meet each other. Dante couldn't say he feels something special about her, apart from respect and gratitude for taking care of Kasim and for her knowledge, when the ginger haired female seeker seemed to have other aspirations for him. She did not hesitate to show her affection with both words and acts and in other occasions, Dante would have rejected her as politely as he could, but he couldn't find someone else trustworthy enough to take care of Kasim when he is gone. So he kept contact with her and at the same time tried to keep an appropriate amount of distance.

Recently though, the Irish seeker told him that she will move back to Ireland and gave Dante no other option. He needed her presence for Kasim and could not do otherwise. He told her his idea and somehow made her agree with his limitations. This wasn't going to be ordinary, this will happen for Kasim only. That didn't stop Scarlet for celebrating her 'victory' and throw herself on Dante's arms as she had done may time in the past. Dante wanted to gently push her away, but he agreed with himself to endure it, for Kasim. He knew that one day, the way he cares exceedingly about others will get him into unnecessary trouble, but he knows he can endure his recent one.

Here they are, Dante Vale and Scarlet Byrne, both of them sitting on the couch and waiting for Kasim to come out of his room to announce him the news. Dante noticed that the boy liked to spend a lot of time in his room, talking to himself. He wouldn't let others in and when Dane asked him about it, Kasim said that he is talking to his secret friend and that Dante wasn't supposed to know about him but he told him so because he trusts him. Another weird thing Kasim does is being really overprotective of the object he has wrapped around his old clothing, the clothes he wore at the day of the explosion. Dante remembers how tight his grip around his big pocket attached to his shirt was. The object it contained never caught Dante's sight and as far as he knows, it's still in that big pocket of the old dirty shirt Kasim hides under his bed and asked Dante to not look at it. Of course Dante was really curious and couldn't help but suspect that this object was related to Kasim's special powers, but wanted anything but betraying Kasim' trust. Scarlet told him that she knows nothing about the content and hasn't bothered Kasim about his little self-talks, another reason why Dante approves of her presence.

The two adult waited patiently, with Scarlet's face being decorated with a big smile and Dante leaving out sighs, until the now 8 years old Kasim got out of his room. He had grown taller and gained some weight he needed. His dark brown hair had gotten longer and at his birthday, he got a new modern haircut with shaved sides and bald undercut, with the rest of the hair remained, wrapped in a ponytail. His big royal blue eyes never fail to lighten up the room and the bruise besides his big lips was long gone. He was wearing one of the many sets of clothes Dante has bought, Jean male shorts with ripped parts, a baggy white long sleeved sweater and red converse shoes. On his neck hangs a leather string, holding the amulet of his first titan, Memphis.

Kasim smiled as he saw Dante, but when his eyes caught Scarlet, he had to suppress a frown, when the ginger haired seeker shot him a bright smile and a loud ringing greeting. He returned their greetings with his own rather dead one and sat opposite of them. Noticing his weird expression, Dante spoke.

"Kasim, are you alright?" he asked concerned, earning a nob and two head shakes by the mentioned young boy

"I am ok, just a bit tired. Are you leaving on a mission?" Kasim asked, guessing that it would justify Scarlet's presence. However, his adoptive father had other plans.

"No, I won't have to go away for some time" he answered his question and then took a deep breath before shooting him a warm smile and tried to find the right words to announce his decision. It wasn't because he was afraid of Kasim being disturbed, since he hadn't complained about Scarlet, but saying this would bring him the burden of realization of what he is about to do. He asked for nothing more than what he has already given him, a home, food clothes, yet Dante was ready to make that choice for Kasim. He cares a lot about that boy, who always somehow makes him see the bright side and spread a smile on his lips. Before he could utter a single word, Scarlet took his hand in hers and moved closer to him.

"Kasim my dear boy, me and Dante have something to tell you, right Dante?" she then turned to him and Kasim's narrowed his brows. Dante gathered his courage and looked at Scarlet, before turning to Kasim.

"Me and Scarlet will get married Kasim" he said and the boy gasped in surprise "This way, she can be by your side, look after you and teach you what she knows. A seeker should possess valuable knowledge, besides titans and magic power. Also, Scarlet is a kind person and has shown how much she cares for us through the year. I believe this will be a god change for us, right?"

Dante finished his speech and waited for Kasim's reaction. The boy stayed silent for a while, trying to digest the news and after a few moments, he started shaking his head and looked at Dante with an expression of a sad puppy. It was clear he did not approve of his adoptive father's decision, but what Dante could see was not just disapproval. He looked frightened, as if he had just seen his biggest fear come to life, as he kept looking at Dante and then at Scarlet. Dante had his eyes fixed on Kasim and didn't notice the daggers Scarlet was shooting with her stares towards the boy.

"Kasim?" Dante pulled away from Scarlet and tried to approach him, but Kasim just shook his head once again and shot him a hard expression, the hurt in his big royal blue puppy eyes made his heart clench and Dante couldn't help but wonder what the reason of such a reaction is.

"No! No! You can't marry her!" Kasim almost shouted at Dante's face and his shaky voice revealed his fear due to the high possibility of this marriage happening. He took a few steps back and towards his room.

"Ok, calm down and tell me why are you saying this?" Dante kept calm and watched how Kasim grew more and more frustrated.

"She is…she is..."

"She is what Kasim?" Dante demanded to know and turned to look at the mentioned female, who at the last second changed her deadly glare to a faked hurt expression, before turning to Kasim again. He looked like he was about to say something, but at the last moment changed his mind.

"No, I can't get you into this! I don't want to put you in danger!" Kasim said and stormed in his room with Dante and scarlet following him from behind.

"What danger Kasim? Please, talk to me" the auburn haired adult asked with an expression that was a mixture of caring and confused.

When they entered the room, they found Kasim holding his old cloth, his hand stuffed inside the big pocket, ready to take out what was inside. Dante couldn't believe he was about to reveal the content of his pocket he has been curious about for so long and wondered what does it have to do with him marrying Scarlet. Scarlet, watching Kasim's movement, she took a few steps back and eyed the boy attentively.

As he pulled his hand out of his pocket, all three seekers in the room confronted the sight of a bottle. It was green with different motifs and a beautiful, exotic shape. Kasim took it in his hands carefully and then embraced it, as if it was the most precious thing in the world and then…he whispered something to it, really quietly, but loud enough for Dante to hear.

"I'm sorry, I know I am breaking my promise, but I need you" He told the bottle and Dante's confusion and curiosity reached their apex, when Scarlet smirked evilly.

Kasim rubbed the bottle, took a deep breath and eyed the two adults seriously. The lid of the bottle threw itself away and a golden mist started coming out of it and Dante had to cover his face.

Scarlet stood there with an insane grin of satisfaction plastered in her face and eyed Kasim in anticipation. The boy held the bottle close and fixed his gaze on Dante, fear crystal clear in his royal blue orbs.

"I wish…I wish…" He started hesitant with a shaky voice, but Scarlet's expression pushed all his doubts aside. "I wish that Scarlet Byrne leaves our lives forever!" the boy shouted with his eyes shut and the gold mist gathered by his side and started taking the form of a person. Dante had no idea how to react. Kasim's secret object has been revealed in front of his eyes and ha cannot find a proper reaction. Helpless he turned to Scarlet and finally noticed her sickening expression, while her figure started to fade away, her last words directed at Kasim.

"Careful what you wish for dear" she said with a mocking tone before she completely disappeared and Dante hurriedly averted his gaze to the person besides Kasim, who had fully taken a human form.

It was a tall, tanned, beautiful midnight blue haired woman with golden orbs, big pale pink lips and a green and gold Arabian princess attire which reminds you of the Disney princess Jasmin. The woman kneeled beside Kasim to match his height and looked at him with a forced smile.

"Your wish has been granted master Kasim" she said and Kasim's eyes got watery as he wrapped his arms around the woman's neck and hugged her tight.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry Zhalia, I had to do it!" he said with a shaky voice, not minding his loud sobs and the women, who is apparently named Zhalia, patted his head and caressed his back, a soft expression gracing her features.

"I know…we both knew it would come to this one day Kasim"

Dante was speechless. Scarlet had just disappeared right in front of his eyes and now a woman who he had never seen in his life just popped out of a bottle and starts comforting Kasim. Taking a few deep breaths, Dante started to connect everything…Kasim's 'self-talks', his overprotectiveness of the bottle, his specialty, Zhalia saying she just granted his wish, calling him master. His eyes widen in surprise and he didn't bother suppressing a gasp, as he carefully eyed the woman again before approaching her and Kasim.

"You-You are a genie aren't you?" he asked in disbelief, even though what he witnessed only seconds ago was the strongest proof. Zhalia looked at him with empty eyes and let go of Kasim.

"Yes I am" she replied and Dante shook his head and covered his forehead with his palm. As a seeker, he has seen many bizarre and weird things, but this was beyond his fantasies. A genie has been at his house al this long! He didn't know how to feel about it, or about Kasim hiding her from him. He could only wonder why. And what was Kasim saying about putting him in danger? Is Zhalia dangerous? No, it can't be, Kasim wouldn't have kept her if she was. Then what on earth is it?

Kasim let go of Zhalia and turned to Dante, his adoptive father, with an apologetic expression.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know whether it was right to tell you or not. I promised to keep her existence a secret." Kasim explained and Dante narrowed his brows in curiosity.

"You promised? To whom did you promise that?" he asked

"Jaqueline, Doctor Cody" Kasim replied and Dante got confused for what seemed the hundredth time this day. Zhalia felt a bit awkward listening t their conversation, but she knew as well as Kasim that Dante had to know what this was all about.

"Kasim, tell him" She encouraged the boy who gave her a surprised and confused look.

"But, Zhalia-"he protested but Zhalia stopped him.

"If you trust Dante then so do I" she said with a reassuring smile and Kasim let out a sigh, knowing that he is about to put his mentor and father in a great danger. However, he didn't have the chance to say anything.

The whole house started to shake and the window of Kasim's room broke into thousand tiny pieces.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello everyoe! Chapter two is up! I hope you are having a wonderful day my beautiful aliens!~  
I don't usually make chapters of this length, so this makes me feel a bit uncomfortable but i have to admit it's easier and takes less time.  
Thank you for your views and reviews, i appreciate your support ^.^**

 **Soooooo...Kasim has been hiding a genie all this long and it's non other than Zhalia! How do you feel about it? Why did Kasim promised doctor Cody to take care of Zhalia and keep her existance secret? What is his relationship with doctor Cody and Omar after all? And how is Klaus conected to all this? What is this science project, who is responsible for the explotion, why were there kids in the military, Kasim included, are questions about to be asnwered later on... But why did Kasim fear Scarlet so much? She is...what? What secrets hide behind what happened three years ago? What is the situation that Kasim doesn't want to put Dante in?...**

 **That's all for now my lovely authors and guests! Any view or review is appreciated!**

 **Thank you for your support and for your own awesome stories.  
**

 **~~Never forget to smile and stay aweome~~**

 **Lots of love from Irene Rays ^.^**


	3. Chapter 3

**To guest phamalama: hehe, i am glad you recognised it and i am afraid that "Our Dark Side" will take me a while... sorry... :(  
Thank you very much for your review , knowing that you enjoy my story brings me great joy. I appreciate every view and review ^.^  
Don't worry, Scarlet is no longer a threat...  
I will look out for you, certainly ^.^**

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

 **Trust issues and a burned house**

Dante pulled Kasim and Zhalia close and covered them with his body from the glasses. After the ground stopped shaking three figures jumped from the window to Kasim's room. The trio lifted their heads and saw three monstrous beings with rotten grey complexion, thick fat necks, with huge claws in their foot and hand fingers and their faces looked reptilian with only a few stinky black hairs hanging from their almost bald glassy heads. Their bodies where covered with red pieces of cloth which was ripped and dirty. Their smell was pure torture for their healthy nostrils. Kasim wrinkled his nose at their sight; Dante pulled them even closer protectively and examined them. They were doing nothing but walking circles around them, so Dante assumed they are waiting for them to do the first move. Suddenly Zhalia pulled away and broke free of his grip, causing the auburn haired man to look at her with confusion.

"Zhalia come here! It's safer to stay close" he advised her but she didn't even turn to look at him. Her eyes were fixed on the disgusting oversized reptilian faced monsters which were acting like hawks, waiting for the right moment to attack their pray...

"I am a genie, they cannot hurt me. But even if they do, I won't die, so just take care of Kasim" she declared, still examining the bizarre looking creatures with a hard gaze. Her eye caught a strange burning mark on their exposed necks at the shape of a cloud of smoke between a crown, like the smoke was a finger and the crown a ring, and in the middle of the crown between the smoke, a syringe. Recognizing it almost immediately after it entered her vision, she knew why they weren't attacking… they were searching for something… for her bottle. If she looks at Kasim now, they will know where it is.

The boy has the object of their desired well covered under his oversized sweater and is holding onto Dante's black sweater in a way for the bottle to stay hidden. Dante's hands around Kasim also helped hiding it. Dante tried to move his hand to grab a titan from his pocket, which lead them to the discovery that those monsters can grow a tail whenever they want to and slap their hands away.

One of them decided that it has run out of patience and dashed towards them with his sharp claws. Dante reacted right away. He got up, put a hand in front of Kasim protectively and called an Armor band. Now that they couldn't reach them he could use titans.

"Zhalia!" Kasim screamed his friend's name, which was left out of the shield and Dante mentally scolded himself for not pulling her in.

"Don't worry Kasim, I can take care of myself" she assured him as she dodged a kick of a monster and punched it in its neck. Two of them were attacking her while one of them was trying to break the shield protecting Dante and Kasim. Finally, Dante pulled out his amulet.

"Help her out, Caliban!" he commanded and the strong Aztec warrior appeared beside the woman with his sharp blade, ready to follow Dante's orders.

Zhalia looked like she could handle the situation with ease, dodging kicks, knowing when and where she should kick with speed and grace. Her fighting skills impressed Dante. Caliban managed to defeat one and is now fighting the one in front of their shield.

Dante kneeled to match Kasim's height and only then noticed the boy's uneven breathing and fear. Kasim was shaking like a leaf and his grip on the bottle from the shirt was so tight his knuckles where white. Dante pulled him close and wrapped his arms around his body, comforting him in silence.

"Don't worry buddy, I will take you out of here" he assured him and patted his back. He felt Kasim shaking his head, nose rubbing his black sweater.

"He found us! H-He found her!" Kasim announced with trembling voice, now looking straight into his adoptive father's amber eyes fool of concern.

"Who found us Kasim?" he asked him in a soft, sedative tone. His question was answered a few seconds after he made it. A hoarse voice could be heard from the corridor leading to the room; shouting "Ray pulse" and injuring Caliban, giving the monster the chance he needed to defeat him and sent him back to his amulet.

The third monster came back to his senses and all of them managed to injure Zhalia pretty badly. A kick in the stomach, one in the back and then they sent her flying in the bed, where she hit her head to the rough wooden material. It all happened so fast. In a blink of an eye, the monsters were holding her unconscious body by her hands and one of them stood beside the shield.

Watching blooming worry in Kasim's royal blue eyes, Dante knew he has to do something, but before he could pull out another amulet, he heard footstep from outside Kasim's room, getting louder and louder. An old man in some classic old clothes and a monocle appeared standing in the doorframe, a grin of satisfaction ornamenting his wrinkled pale skeleton like face.

"Finally, we meet again Zhalia" he said and then approached the mentioned female and placed his old dirty hands on her skin, lifting it up to stare at her cloudy gold eyes. Zhalia frowned and wrinkled her forehead at his side, clenching her fist as tight as her strength allowed her too.

'Stay away from her!" Kasim screamed, trying to sound brave but the tremble in his voice betrayed the fear he held for this man. Dante, who has been standing protectively in front of Kasim up until now, was observing the man carefully, a hint of a spark trying to light itself in his eyes… he has seen this man before.

The man averted his attention to them and his grin reached his eyes upon recognizing Kasim.

"Oh that's right. You are the boy who is supposed to stop me." He stated in disbelief, his eyes lingering at the trembling figure of the boy with amusement, before his gaze hardened "You shouldn't have done that Kasim" he scolded him coldly, piercing both of them with his stare. Dante gasped upon recognizing that line and his face right after it. The scene where him and Omar where running to the gates at King Khalid replayed in his mind and he could see clearly the face of a man popping out of a car's window, a man Omar had called…

"You are Klaus, aren't you?" Dante asked, gaining his attention.

"Indeed! You must be Dante Vale foundation's top seeker and the fool who thought he could save Omar from my hands" Klaus stated mockingly. Kasim gripped Dante's shirt tightly upon hearing Omar's name and maybe they couldn't see it, but Zhalia clenched her fists tighter, so tight her nails opened up bleeding little holes. Dante also felt anger boiling the blood in his veins. Remembering Omar's and Klaus's little chat; he could tell that Klaus held a big amount of responsibility for Omar's death.

"Did you cause the explosion back then? And at the borders?" he asked, giving his best efforts to remain calm and not snap, earning a cheeky grin from the disgusting bald man.

"Maybe I helped a little in King Khalid, but I know nothing about the borders. But, that's not the topic at hat now… hand over the lamp and maybe I will spare your life" he threatened them rather calmly, feeling certain for his win. Dante remained silent and pulled Kasim even closer if possible.

Without a warning, the monster besides Klaus gave a strong punch with both hands at the shield, in which Dante has given a lot of energy to keep, and was ready to attack. Dante shot a ray pulse and finally called out Solwing and Freelancer and Klaus called Brahe. Brahe started sparing with Freelancer and Solwing trying to keep the monster away from Kasim while Dante was dodging spells that Klaus shot him, trying to reach Zhalia.

He could tell that Klaus doesn't have remarkable compact skills. He would keep his distance from Dante and throw different spells at him, spells he never heard before and didn't want to risk finding out what they cause. From the corner of his eye he saw Zhalia blinking, a moan of pain escaping her lips, the wound in her head leaking blood. After she regained consequences, she managed to break free and started fighting the monsters.

Dante could make out how she was trying to keep the monsters away from him, while he was trying to reach her. Dodging and shooting spells, he managed to hit Klaus in his head and kicked him in the wardrobe in which he casted Stop glue.

His eyes widened in terror as he realized that Solwing has been defeated and the monster was ready to smash Kasim. Dante felt his heart jumped in his chest and didn't hesitate to dash towards the monster, kicking its spine and shooting a Touch ram. The monster now averted his attention to Dante and tried to rip him apart with its sharp big claws. Kasim saw how his adoptive father was getting more and more exhausted, Zhalia wasn't at a better state either. He knew he had to do something... Only when Dante got hit in the stomach, Kasim snapped.

"No one hurts my dad!" he screamed and finally found the courage to place his hand at the depths of his pocket and took out a silver amulet.

"Memphis! Protect them!" Kasim commanded and a fish looking warrior appeared. He had an aqua bluish complexion with green and golden marks, gills and fins in its muscular hands and between his fingers, his eyes looked like two lapis lazuli crystals. He was wearing an armor made of seaweeds and bronze, holding a bronze shield with a carving of the moon and a bronze spear with pointy carvings. With a swift motion, Memphis pierced the monster's stomach, the one who attacked Dante and then started sparing with the other two. Dante immediately pulled Zhalia away from the battlefield and Kasim too, bringing them close to the exit of Kasim's room. After he closed the door behind him, the trio started breathing heavily.

Dante and Kasim exchanged a wide eyed look of concern before Dante pulled Kasim in a strong embrace. Zhalia watched the two of them with a ghost of a smile only for a splint of a second before peeking at the room. He saw how Brahe defeated Freelancer and the monster Memphis's spear pierced was coming back to its senses. Now, both the three monsters and Brahe were attacking Memphis. They had lost any kind of advantage, Zhalia knew that well... there was something he could do...but didn't feel sure about it. A genie has the ability to use any kind of magic when needed to defend itself, its master or the bottle, but up until now, she was afraid of doing so, believing that if she uses her magic, Klaus will somehow find her. However that made no sense now, he has already found her and not only her bottle, but her master and his father are in danger.

It didn't take long for Memphis to return to its amulet too and Klaus managed to get himself out of the wardrobe. Seeing all that, Zhalia dragged the boys to the living room, panting in agony.

"What do we do now?" Kasim asked; eyes wide in fear and Dante was roaming through every corner of his mind. He could call Ignatius or Metagolem, but that would cost him too much power and he wouldn't be able to protect Kasim and Zhalia afterwards.

"I might be able to help" Zhalia suggested "I am a genie, I can use any kind of magic, seeker magic included" she confessed and Dante frowned in anger

"And why haven't you been using it all along?" he screamed frustrated. All this time, he had to digest that his son hid a genie, that he is in danger, that the man who

is responsible about the explosion in King Khalid is after them -or at least Zhalia whom Kasim wanted to protect- and killed Omar, that Scarlet is not who he thought she is and now...now their genie tells them that she could have helped but did nothing! Hell that was too much even for him to take!

After this thought crossed his mind, his expression softened and he realized his stupid mistake, which results could be displayed in Zhalia's expression? The woman averted her gaze and bit her lower lip, feeling obviously guilty about not using her powers earlier, but this was too much for her as well. She obviously wasn't ready for an attack and after living peacefully in his house for three years, she must have got unused on using her powers. She was just as socked and afraid as Dante was and she didn't do anything. She gave her all in compact. Dante had to admit she was a skilled fighter... feeling totally stupid and guilty for screaming at her when they were both wrapped in the same mess, equally socked and afraid, he tried to approach her and apologize for his sudden outburst. Zhalia kept her head low...she is not the kind of woman that allowed people to talk to her like that but this time, Dante was right.

He didn't get to apologize though, for the door of Kasim's room upstairs exploded and at the blink of an eye, Klaus, the three monsters and Brahe were at the living room targeting Kasim.

"Hand over the battle kid! Or you will regret it deeply!" He threatened and commanded his monsters to attack. This time, it was Zhalia's Armor band which stopped a monster from attacking Dante. He blinked a couple of times before shooting her a grateful look, earning a nob in return. Both adults stood protectively in front of Kasim and started fighting with all their power and might.

It turned out their fighting skills and spell knowledge is almost equal. They communicate and cooperate perfectly in the battlefield, but also knew they had the disadvantage of number and exhaustion. There has to be an end in this, quickly!

During the fight, Brahe managed to catch Zhalia, holding her too tight, her lungs draining air due to his strong stone hard grip at her hands and diaphragm. Now Dante had to keep the three monsters busy, giving Klaus the opportunity to break the shield and grab Kasim's arm tightly. The boy let out a scream as he stubbornly hugged the bottle inside his shirt. Giving a blow in his stomach, Kasim fell on his knees but still refused to let go of the bottle. Meanwhile Zhalia was struggling to break free from Brahe and Dante desperately tried to shoot Klaus, anything to take him away from his boy. Taking advantage of the fact that Memphis had injured one of the monsters, he easily knocked it out, that left two of them.

Realizing that Kasim wont manage to stand another kick by Klaus - and also his heart was clenching with every hit, leaving a new bruise in Kasim's dark coffee brown skin- he decided that there is no other way out. Building a shield around himself, he searched in his pocket until he found the right amulet.

"Ignatius" he roared the fire titan's name and a rock looking like burning titan appeared. With two blows of his burning fists, he sent the monsters flying to the large VT screen, simultaneously setting them on fire and rushed at Kasim, while sending Ignatius to save Zhalia. But it was too late... Klaus kicked Kasim to Dante's direction and the boy passed out in Dante's arms. Fear rushed in the adult's veins, but mostly anger. That sick freak killed Omar and thousand other innocent men in King Khalid, attacked him in his house and just beat up his son! The worst part...he managed to get the bottle. His frown was wrinkling his entire face and his fists were clenched, hard like irons. Meanwhile Ignatius managed to free Zhalia and send Brahe back to his amulet, but Klaus didn't seem to care about that. The gasp which escaped Zhalia's lips as Klaus rubbed the bottle with his filthy dirty hands only raised Dante's anger and a rush of disgust went from his spine to his face, expressing itself with a low growl. He wanted to break him in half, but Klaus was holding Zhalia's bottle and Dante doesn't know what happen when someone drops it...it could kill her...

Klaus gazed at the bottle with astonishment and greediness, like the golem in the Lord of the rings...Dante couldn't actually see a big difference. His wide eyes displayed his madness and insanity as he turned to look at the adults with a mocking stare, small chuckle like sounds leaving through his clenched teeth which were forming what is supposed to be a smile.

"Finally, all mine!" he announced with glory his gaze averted to Zhalia's figure, who gave him a look of disgust "You are all mine again!" he stated, now a bit louder.

"Now, my last wish is for me to become the head of the Organization!" he screamed his desire with a piercing hoarse voice and rubbed the bottle so hard it could have washed off all its color...but nothing happened...

Dante shot Zhalia a surprised glance, who heaved a sigh of relief. Why would Klaus think that his wish would come true if Kasim was now Zhalia's master? This just didn't make sense. Dante heard a muffled moan of pain coming from Kasim and he immediately lifted him in his arms and placed a hand on his forehead.

"I don't get it! I had one more wish! What the hell?" Klaus shouted in frustration, gazing at every possible direction and Zhalia could swear his mouth was leaking foams. She approached Dante and Kasim, standing protectively in front of them. When Kasim had opened his eyes and caught Klaus, a smile spread on his lips. Klaus then dashed towards Dante and screamed right at his face, spitting saliva from between his teeth.

"What the hell have you done to my genie?" he asked and Dante was ready to blow his face with Dragon fist, but Kasim stopped him

"He did nothing...I did...s-she is no longer yours!" he weakly answered the elder's question before closing his eyes again, too exhausted to keep them open. This time, no one stopped Dante's fist...except Klaus who backed off all of a sudden, displeasure clear in his face. Zhalia was trying her best to sneak up on him and get the bottle, but when Klaus lifted it up and made a dangerous for the object motion, her heart skipped what felt like thousand beats. Please no... She prayed as Klaus eyed Dante with a look of a crazy man.

"If I can't have her, no one ever will!" Klaus once again screamed and threw the bottle.

"No" Kasim merely whispered and that was enough for Dante to know that the bottle mustn't hit the ground. He threw himself on the floor, still holding Kasim in his arms, hoping to catch the bottle, but Klaus was faster and kicked his abdomen. Dante groaned in pain and tightened his grip around Kasim, ready to defend him from Klaus….

It all happened exactly at the blink of an eye…

One moment he was ready to dodge a kick by Klaus and the other he was standing outside of his burning house with Kasim in his arms and Zhalia by his side, holding her bottle safe and sound. Then he recalled commanding Ignatius through their bond to catch Klaus…if he did so, then the burning monsters and a burning Klaus must have set his house on fire.

Kasim was still unconscious in his arms and Zhalia was now standing on top of him, offering him a hand, an apologetic look plastered on her face as the corners of her big fruity lips were turned slightly downwards.

"I'm sorry I got you into this, this is my fault" she apologized as she helped Dante stand up, holding Kasim carefully. Dante felt an equal wave of guilt for being harsh at her before. After all, this attack wasn't her fault, but his gut was telling him that Scarlet had something to do with it… he shall check on that one later. Right now, it's urgent to leave the house as fast as possible. Returning her stare with one of his own apologetic ones, understanding dancing in his amber eyes, he spoke.

"Don't worry; none of this is your fault. Kasim promised Doctor Cody to keep your existence secret and he did it well. You couldn't have done something more than what you have already done, and it was enough. I was taken aback by what I learnt today so, I was a little harsh at you and you didn't deserve it. We are both socked. I'm sorry Zhalia" he apologized, his speech rather bigger that her own, but this is typical for a gentleman like him. Zhalia stared at him with a glimpse of surprise in her hazel orbs, before averting her gaze to Kasim to check on him and Dante followed his example. The boy's breathing was normal; he had a few bruises at his arm, tummy and cheek near his left eye. He felt his heart skip a beat and remembered the condition he was when he found him… full of cuts and bleeding wounds and bruises… of course, it was nothing like it now, but just remembering it makes Dante feel disappointed about failing to protect the child he has grown to know as son. Then he looked back at Zhalia, who was still eyeing Kasim with a pained expression, feeling responsible for everything that happened, to check on her. Her stomach, which was exposed by her outfit, had a large purplish bruise and there was one more at her shoulder and lips. A deep long cut was ornamenting her arm and the gash at her head was still bleeding and made her look like she jumped out of the painting where the artist spilled some red paint by a mistake in her head. Her features softened at the sight of Kasim.

"Thank you, but I still believe this is my fault, I should have thought of something…handle the situation better" she scolded herself and Dante felt his own features soften as well, seeing her worry for Kasim as much as he did and blaming It all to herself. It's not like such a situation belongs to the ones that are of minimum matter and a topic which causes laughter at distant future conversation. His house was on fire for God's sake and he just found out that his son hides a lot more than his secret power. Or is today's event related to his secret power? Did Doctor Cody know about it? Does it have to do with Zhalia? He shook those questions away and regained his focus, knowing that they should have been long gone already. He asked Zhalia to hold Kasim for a while and give him her bottle. She hesitated for a second, not knowing what he wants to do with it… she felt afraid of him… but on the other hand, this man gave Kasim a home –and her too, but without knowing- and tried to save her, even though he knows so little about the situation. Kasim trusts him, so there is no reason for her not to do the same, right? Her senses on alert and her hazel eyes not leaving his honest amber ones, she handed over the bottle and Dante secured it in one of the large pocket of his yellow trench coat, and then took out his phone from the other pocket.

Zhalia let out a mental sigh of relief as she held Kasim closer, a mother like look on her face. As Dante took out his phone, he called Metz and asked him to send a Foundation's jet to get them to Germany and promised to explain what happened when they arrive. They didn't wait for long for the jet to arrive and during that time, Kasim started to regain consequences.

* * *

At the jet, they had a pilot, so Kasim sat between Dante and Zhalia and Zhalia took the seat closer to the window. After treating their injuries properly, Dante took care of his own and after five minutes in the air, he lied down on his seat, got comfortable and closed his eyes, covering his face with his trench coat. He wasn't actually sleeping; he just couldn't take the heavy silence and knew it wasn't the right moment to ask for more explanations and information about what he had gotten him into. Acknowledging his lack of hope for a conversation related to that matter, he relaxed and let his mind explore and examine the matter from his own angle.

Meanwhile Kasim, believing that his adoptive father is asleep; he got up from his seat and went to his friend's direction. In fact Zhalia was more like a mother figure to him after the explosion in King Khalid where Doctor Cody handed her bottle to him, before showing him where to go and get out of there with Omar… he had imagined himself living with Zhalia and Omar as parental figures. Dante invading in that image was a totally unexpected but lovely surprise. He is so caring, kind, patient, a great example and a loving father. He had nothing more to ask for…he had everything he ever wanted. A home, clothes to wear, food to eat and people to consider family. No matter how many times he prayed from the depths of his innocent heart for all this to be a nightmare, he knew it wasn't true and wanted anything but make another wish and risk running out of them, which would mean losing Zhalia. Now he had to dig in the past and relieve moments he wished were erased forever, but no one can simply walk away after they were dragged too deep in such a situation.

Playing with his little ponytail out of nervousness, he poked Zhalia's knee and the woman turned her head to face her friend, a friend who she has grown to think as a little brother, maybe even a son. She softened her eyes and gave him a small, yet rewarding smile.

"Hey piggy, shouldn't you be asleep? We had a tough day" she asked and noticed his little frown and snort when he called him by the nickname she has made for him. He has that habit to eat a lot, but never gain any weight. He chuckled a bit before his face darkened again.

"I can't sleep… and I don't really like planes… Shouldn't you return to your bottle? I know that staying out of it for too long takes too much energy. I don't want you to pass out or something" he worriedly asked her and Zhalia's smile grew to a sweet grin. She has had many owners in her long life, most of them greedy man who only cared about their selfish desires. Kasim was the first one who proved himself a real man, caring about her putting her before him. Seeing so much love and concern in such a small heart could even move a stone cold magic entity like her and give birth to an honest smile in her lips.

Stretching out her hands and lifting Kasim to sit on her legs, she heaved a small sigh and secured him in her arms, her smile not leaving her face.

"You don't have to worry about me; I can take care of myself. You are the one who should rest. I need to be awake if something happens." She explained and found herself at the mercy of the child's big royal blue eyes, which made such a beautiful contradiction with his coffee brown skin, looking right at her hazel ones with pure concern and sadness.

"Please" the word left his big lips as a whisper, as soft as a gentle caress, causing Zhalia's heart to melt, something that wouldn't have happened if it wasn't Kasim. She tried to avoid his gaze, but it still pierced the back of her head and at the end, she let a sigh of surrender.

"Fine, I will go to sleep, NOT in my bottle, but I will go to sleep. If you promise to do the same, ok?" she promised and the boy nobbed multiple times, eager to keep his part of the deal, something in which he actually had no say, since he felt his eyelids too heavy to keep them open any longer. Not bothering moving to hi seat, he fell asleep in Zhalia's arms with a cute smile on his lips, feeling safe and sound as her soft palms caressed his head, making him more relaxed and comfortable.

As soon as Zhalia felt herself relaxing in her seat as well and a hope of her getting a wink of sleep appeared in the horizon, she felt a strong hand grabbing her shoulder and turning her seat to the direction of its owner, her breath stuck in her throat…

* * *

 **A/N: Hello to all my beautiful human beings! :P**

 **Chapter 3 is up and I am very curious to know what you think of it…**

 **I won't be doing the questioning part, s feel free to point out parts which you liked or want to leave a comment at, or ask me questions yourself.**

 **Thank you very much for your reviews and support. Any view or review is appreciated from the depths of my dark heart….**

 **Never forget to smile and stay awesome**

 **Lots of love from Irene Rays**


	4. Chapter 4-Uncle Monty and a visitor

**Chapter 4**

 **About three years ago**

Zhalia felt her breath stuck in her throat and her blood pressure rise, until she finally came face to face with the person who interrupted her sleeping progress. Heaving a sigh of relief, she checked if Kasim was still asleep and suddenly the man's grip seemed a lot softer.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" the man asked apologetically and Zhalia shook her head in denial. The man rubbed the back of his neck out of nervousness before eyeing her from head to toe, noticing her quite exposing outfit.

"Are you cold?" he kindly asked, but Zhalia knew he was trying to make an introduction for the subject he wanted to talk about in the first place.

"I am fine Dante, genies don't feel cold easily. But I don't think this is your main concern, is it?" she asked calmly, causing Dante to chuckle in discomfort.

"You caught me" He confessed before he cleared his throat and grew serious "It won't take long till we arrive in Germany. Until then, would you be kind enough to give me at least a clue of what is going on? I believe that I deserve to know. Also, you told Kasim before that if he trusts me, then you can trust me too. I know that Kasim makes you think I am trustworthy but I want to vouch for it myself." He paused to see if she was paying attention and found her staring at him indifferent

"You can trust me Zhalia" he admitted and Zhalia heaved a sigh, before standing up and carefully placing Kasim to her seat. She signaled him to go a bit further to not wake him up and so they did.

"Listen Dante, I don't doubt the fact that you are a good person. You have treated Kasim the best way anyone ever has and you let him keep me even after the trouble I caused. I trust your kindness, but I don't know you that well to know how you will react to this" she confessed, locking their gazes to be able to see what he is thinking. Even though it was dark, his amber orbs could easily find her hazel ones. Dante hummed, thinking he has understood her concern.

"Don't worry; I won't doubt any of your words. I might not know you as well, but I know I can trust you. You have been by Kasim's side and supported him when I couldn't even see he was suffering" he paused and looked back at the exhausted tiny figure of the boy, disappointed of himself that he hadn't suspected anything about Scarlet earlier. "If you think I won't believe what you say, try me" he challenged and simultaneously encouraged her to speak, but Zhalia only raised a brow.

"This is not my concern Dante, I know you will believe me, you got no choice but to do so. It's Kasim I'm worried about" she clarified and Dante shot her a questioning look, causing her to heave another sigh.

"Think about it, he has been hiding this from you all this long to keep you safe. He is afraid that with this information, you will do something reckless and he will lose you. From what I've heard about you from him, you are doing such things very often, so it has become my concern as well. I won't be 'here forever… he will be alone if he loses us and I don't want this to happen" she explained and caused Dante to understand her. He had no say in this; she was acting like him, doing anything to ensure Kasim's safety and happiness. However, Zhalia has to understand that this is his job as well and he is not a fool to do something dangerous enough that will cause him to leave Kasim behind.

"I understand your concern, but I have been his father for three years, I want the exact same thing you do. I wouldn't endanger myself at the point of leaving him. If you don't feel like sharing anything now, I understand, but when we will land and rest properly, you will have to explain me everything. I am taking that this attack wasn't for good, since Doctor Cody wanted your existence secret" he said and after some thinking, Zhalia nobbed in agreement, surrendering. He has to know everything and he knows what he is doing.

"Fine, you will learn everything. We don't have a choice, you are already into this. But tomorrow, let him rest first. And yes the attack was not good. Up until now, Kasim had managed to remain untraceable, until this Scarlet appeared. She is the reason Klaus managed to find us but he is the least dangerous person compared to what we have left behind in Saudi Arabia" she confessed, causing Dante to knit his brows and frown in displeasure. Those weren't good news at all. He wanted to ask for more, but remembered his promise and stopped himself.

"I see" he simply mouthed, displeasure clear in his voice "I guess it will all be cleared tomorrow. I am sorry for keeping you up" he apologized and Zhalia lifted her hands in a meaning manner

"Don't be, you are just worried, I understand that." Just after she assured him it was ok, a voice from the cockpit announced their arrival in Germany and woke up Kasim.

The young boy lazily lifted his body from the chair, rubbed his eyes, and heaved a small cute yawn, before stretching and eyeing the adults with a cloudy gaze, eyes half open.

"Are we landing already?" he weakly asked and the two adults smiled at him. This boy is the reason they will have to collaborate and do everything in their power to fight against whatever has started in Saudi Arabia and Klaus, to keep him safe… to keep his smile safe.

"Dante!" a voice with clear German accent echoed through the living room of the HQ in Berlin.

"Metz" Dante returned the warm greeting and the two adults exchanged a manly friendly hug. When they separated, Metz's eyes fell on Kasim. The presence of this boy never failed to place a loving smile on his lips just like that moment, until he noticed the bruises all over the parts of his skin that were exposed.

"Kasim, my little boy, what happened to you?" He asked with concern as he kneeled to match his height. All those three years, Dante had taken him to visit Metz many times. The man considered Kasim his family and Kasim had gotten used to calling him grandpa. They got along just perfectly, playing chess, making jokes, sometimes he would tutor him or tease Dante. Kasim looked on the floor and played with his sweater nervously while rubbing the floor with his right foot, his ponytail on the side.

"It's a long story grandpa…by the way, you haven't met Zhalia yet" the boy noticed with enthusiasm, trying to lighten the atmosphere between them and caused Metz's eyes to fall on their new companion, his worry only rising as he noticed the female's state.

"I am guessing you are Zhalia" he stated and the woman nobbed.

"Pleased to meet you sir, even under such circumstances" she replied and the elder frowned a bit.

"What circumstances?" he demanded to know. Watching his grandson's and Zhalia's state, he could tell those circumstances were not good at all. He turned to Dante who held an equal frown.

"We will know tomorrow Metz, now Kasim and Zhalia need to be treated properly and we need to rest. A lot of things happened today, we need to calm down and think straight" he politely said and gave him a reassuring nob before turning back to the other two.

"Alright then, I'll call a nurse to treat you two properly. It's nice to meet you Zhalia." The man announced before patting Dante's shoulder lightly and then leaving the room.

They waited at the living room for the nurse and when she came, she healed them pretty quickly. Kasim only had bruises and some minor cuts while Zhalia had a large bruise near her diaphragm, cuts and the big wound in her head, which the nurse turned into a smaller scar. Kasim was the first one to fall asleep and Zhalia returned to her bottle as long as she ensured of his safety, which displeased Dante, since he wanted to have one last talk with her. He didn't know what exactly he wanted to tell her, he just had that strange feeling nagging in his head, the feeling that he has forgotten something to say, something he had to. Dante assured himself that whatever that is, he will remember it and talk to her tomorrow. However this reassurance wasn't as helpful as he had hoped it to be. He stayed up almost all night, tossing and turning in bed, his mind occupied by million thoughts, about what he is about to find out tomorrow, about Kasim's well-being, about the possibility of getting attacked again and at the end, about what he hadn't told Zhalia. He was a little harsh at her at first, but the situation was complicated and she understood, at least she said so. She promised to talk about whatever is going on the next day.

So why is Dante bothering his mind about her? Maybe the realization of hosting a genie without him knowing, or the fact that Kasim has had another friend, who could gladly have been a parental figure all along, seemed a bit disturbing, but it wasn't what bothered him the most. Besides, Kasim had given a promise and was only protecting Zhalia, something that makes Dante proud of him.

So if it's not that her secret existence took him by surprise, that he was harsh on her or that she endangered them without intending to, then what the hell is keeping him up?

His head started aching due to realizing that he is unable to answer that question and after sometime, he finally felt the sweet darkness overtake him.

* * *

The next day, Dante woke up by the intensively bright light that penetrated his room through the window, causing the adult to blink a couple times before lifting his body and closing the window. Stretching a bit and washing his face, he took a deep breath and felt awkwardly refreshed, considering that he had hard time falling asleep. Dressing in his usual attire, he went to the room besides him to wake Kasim up. After knocking a couple of times, he assumed the boy was still asleep. Who would blame him? He had a tough day.

As he opened the door as carefully and soundlessly as he could, he peeked inside and found no sign of him. The worst thought immediately coming to his mind. What if Klaus or another bastard from Saudi Arabia took him? No, this can't be happening! As if to confirm his fears, he heard a scream coming from the living room downstairs. It was Kasim!

Without second thoughts, Dante rushed to downstairs, any sign of sleepiness vanished. His only concern was to get there, kick his enemy's away from Berlin and see that his son was safe and sound. Another scream was released… Finally reaching the first floor, he restlessly jogged and entered the living room, the amulet of Caliban in his head and the word of the infamous spell Ray pulse at the tip of his tongue.

However the sight he confronted deactivated his alerted senses and his tensed muscles. Putting the amulet back to the pocket of his trench coat, he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned on the wall of the entrance. A smirk of amusement made its way to his lips and he rolled his eyes before chuckling lightly.

In the middle of the room was Kasim, trying to keep the air in his lungs as he was squeezed to death and tickled by the fear of all the colossus titans, who is no other than Montehue Lockwood. Tersely was jumping around them, trying to pinch Kasim's cheeks and play with his ponytail, quite hard to do since Montehue was spinning hi around and wouldn't stand still at one spot. The poor young boy was trying really hard to catch his breath due to insane laughter and screaming. Seeing him laugh like that and being so lively and happy compared to how sad and tired he looked yesterday warmed his heart. He kept standing there for a while, until his eyes fell on another entrance leading to the living room, where Metz and Zhalia entered.

Yesterday he was too busy fighting and trying to digest the new information he received, that he didn't have the time to actually notice what a beautiful woman he is and how pleasant her presence was, something which he could clearly see and sense now that he was calmer and refreshed. His eyes were lingering upon her feminine figure, her silky midnight blue hair, and her hazel eyes with golden and chocolate brown brushes, her full fruity raspberry lips, her olive complexion. He found himself mesmerized by her beauty and captivated by her majestic eyes, feeling awkwardly weird for not noticing it before. She is indeed a beautiful woman and her presence seemed to leave her own unique light in the atmosphere.

He also noticed that now she wasn't wearing her Arabian attire, but a long sleeved white shirt which was oversized, light jean shorts and black army boots. The outfit suited her just fine and if Dante didn't know she is a genie and Kasim's friend, he would have considered flirting her. Are genies being born in their bottle by other genies? How are they made really? Maybe Zhalia was a human once and was turned into a genie….

Making those series of thoughts caused him to realize what was bothering all along and felt stupid for not figuring it out before. He was seeing her as nothing more as a magical being. He even woke her up in the middle of their flight without actually caring whether she was tired, all because he wanted and explanation. True, he apologized before about being harsh before but was this just him following the savor vivre or was he honest? He didn't even know if he actually feels comfortable with her presence. Now that he had the time to see how human like she is, how she worries, reacts, smiles like a human, he felt genuine guilt for not seeing her like that in the first place. After all, who is he to know how a genie acts? He had never seen one in his entire life and has no idea where do genies come from. Dante decided that he should face her as an equal and not as a supernatural entity that should be treated accordingly.

He was still standing in one of the entrances with an empty corridor behind him, leaning in the wall still unnoticed by his companions, when Montehue and Tersely stopped playing with Kasim, who crawled on the carpet, trying to regain his breath and stop his laughter, as they noticed Metz's and Zhalia's presence.

"Good Morning sir" Tersely greeted Metz politely

"Hello Metz! How are you doing? And who is that lovely lady?" Montehue greeted Metz as well and checked Zhalia out, causing Dante to raise a brow. Zhalia just looked at the men with an empty gaze, when Metz smiled upon seeing his visitors.

"Hello Montehue, Tersely, everything is alright for the moment. And that lovely lady is Zhalia; she came yesterday with Dante and Kasim. Apparently they were attacked" Metz informed them and Montehue frowned lightly. He knows Dante well; attacking his well-protected house is not easy for a common enemy like Organization suits, so he concluded that something fishy is going on here.

"Those are definitely bad news" Montehue stated as he averted his gaze from the concerned Metz to Zhalia, who was now staring at Kasim and Tersely playing in the carpet, a small sweet smile on her lips at the sight of his smile which brightened up his royal blue eyes.

"I hope that all three of you weren't badly injured" he inquired with worry, gaining Zhalia's attention. Montehue might like to joke around, but he can be very serious at important matters, such as his friendly competitor and friend's health and state. Zhalia's smile vanished the moment she met Montehue's eyes.

"No, we are just fine. Thank you for your concern." She replied and approached Kasim and Tersely. As she seated herself besides tersely, the boy gave her an awkward smile, not used on being so close to a girl, and Kasim shouted her name out of joy and jumped to her arms. Zhalia chuckled and hugged him back in a warm loving embrace, before playing with him.

After Metz greeted them to go to his office, Montehue, having noticed how Zhalia acts different around Kasim, decided to make a show off to impress her.

"You really like kids, huh?" he asked with a smirk and Zhalia looked up to meet his eyes.

"Just this particular little piggy" she said as she tickled Kasim's tummy and the boy complained.

"Hey! I am not a pig; I am the Lord of the seven seas!" The boy stood up proudly and took a heroic position, causing the adults to stare at him and chuckle in amusement, when Zhalia rolled her eyes. They all knew how much Kasim loves the sea and water in general. His titan, Memphis, is connected to water and he can easily learn water spells. After he gained interest in water, Dante taught him how to swim and often travelled with him to places with crystal clear waters to swim and have fun, or at least for Kasim to have fun while Dante is having a mission.

"Is that so?" he asked Kasim amused before turning to Zhalia with a smirk of pride "Let's see if the Lord of the seven seas will survive a bottle with the titan of Squeezing!" he said and dashed at Kasim who let out a scream and started running all around the room to avoid getting squeezed my Montehue.

"You'll never catch me again uncle Monty" the kid shouted as he jumped over couches, armchairs and continued running around while Montehue was slowing his pace on purpose and grinning victoriously as he noticed Zhalia's smile of amusement.

After a while, Montehue stopped, huffing and panting, he put his hands on his knees and looked down. Kasim stopped as well and came close to him, eyeing him with worry in his big eyes.

"Uncle Monty, are you are right?" the little boy asked as he leaned to take a pick at Montehue's face. A move which was proven to be a huge mistake… The moment the poor child was close enough; Montehue let out a loud roar and made a face which would make you believe he has been the monster under the bed that kids have been afraid for ages.

Kasim let out a scream as the colossus guy trapped him in his big strong arms and started squeezing him and playing with his ponytail, tickling him, throwing him in the air and catching him. Zhalia got actually scared whenever Montehue would throw Kasim in the air, her mother instincts were always activated around this kid.

Before Montehue drained all the air from Kasim's lungs, Dante decided to honor his companions with the sound of his voice, revealing his presence. Al this time he had been standing there and smiling in amusement, while he constantly raised his eyebrow every time his friendly competitor would attempt to flirt with Zhalia.

"Since when has my son become your teddy bear? Put him down, you will making pass out" Dante ordered and gathered all three gazes to his direction as he stepped in the living room. Montehue placed Kasim down fast and let out a heavy laughter.

"Don't worry so much mother hen, we are just having fun. Something I could teach you about, you seem to really need it" Montehue commented, but Dante remained indifferent. He crossed his arms in his chest and looked at him with a sparkle of amusement; having prepared a good come back he never got a chance to say.

"If I wanted to have this kind of fun I would have chosen an amusement park, seems my less dangerous in my opinion" Zhalia said sarcastically while shooting bullets with her eyes to Montehue as she noticed how Kasim was missing steps while walking towards tersely. Montehue only gave her an apologetic look and a smile.

"Oh don't worry Zhalia; we do that every time we meet"

"Which is why I take care it's not that often" Dante added, causing tersely and Kasim to laugh and Montehue to frown in displeasure.

"I feel a bit better now" Zhalia admitted, looking at Dante with gratitude before chuckling upon Montehue's priceless expression.

"Kasim could use a dose of laughter from time to time" she added, causing now Montehue to smile victoriously and look at Dante, the words "I win" could have been written on his forehead and Dante barely frowned.

Zhalia was very amused by the men's little competition. She didn't know what exactly was their relationship, only that their reactions were enough to amuse their audience, which is her, Kasim and Tersely. Dante cleared his throat and decided to change the subject.

"If it's ok with you, we could go and see Metz now, unless you need some more time" he said and felt how Zhalia's eyes were scanning his own amber ones. The woman looked at him emotionless. Dante admitted to himself that those sudden transitions of hers were surprising him. She only seemed to smile or show any kind of emotion when the subject of their conversation contains Kasim…and he has barely known her for twenty four hours.

"I think Metz has to finish some business first. He will call us in his office himself when he is done. He promised he won't take long" she announced and earned a nob from Dante, who then turned to Kasim.

"Did you sleep well buddy?" he asked with a slightly concerned look and the boy nobbed multiple times with a huge smile on his lips, brightening his eyes, his ponytail jumping up and down, following the motion of his head. Dante smiled too.

"I did dad, I am perfectly fine. Uncle Monty gave me some of his cappuccino!" the boy confessed excited, causing Dante to frown at Montehue, who lifted his hands on the air in a defense manner. He knew how Dante didn't approve coffee at such a small age; he had made himself clear when he said that Kasim will be allowed to drink coffee after he gets sixteen.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad if he drinks just once in a while" he defended himself and rubbed the back of his neck, before turning to Zhalia for support. Unfortunately for him, she had the exact same expression with Dante, indicating she agreed with his disapproval of coffee at the age of 9.

"Really… you guys are no fun. Are you his mother or something?" Montehue asked Zhalia after he was done pointing out their lack of fun. Instead of getting an answer from the mentioned female, Kasim moved away from tersely and jumped into Zhalia's arms, cuddling her warm white woolen shirt.

"Yes she is!" the boy happily announced. Montehue and Tersely turned to eye Dante wide eyed, while Dante found himself at loss of words and Zhalia felt simply awkward.

"Uh- I am not his biological one. Celestial beings can't have children" she admitted, causing only more confusion to bloom in Montehue's and Tersely's eyes, who were begging Dante for explanations, too socked to mouth a word.

"What-What do you mean?" Tersely managed to utter, moving a few seats away from Zhalia who finally realized what was going on.

"Oh, they don't know I am a-….I'm sorry, I assumed you told them….have you at least told Metz about it?" She asked Dante in bewilderment and he shook his head, indicating he hasn't.

"What do you mean celestial being? What are you?" Montehue now asked Zhalia, turning from shocked to interested about the matter, but Kasim managed to steal the answer from her again.

"She is a genie and I am her master. But I don't want to make my wishes so the she can stay with me forever and I will protect her" Kasim innocently admitted. He is too young to think that the world he is familiar with is something very aloof to others, which is why he laughed hard when he saw Montehue's and Tersely's faces and Dante's face palm. Dante would have preferred to leave them out of this, or bring it to them in a smoother way, when Zhalia felt stupid for not being more careful with her words.

An awkward silence engulfed them where Montehue and tersely were trying to find the right question and Dante with Zhalia the right words. Meanwhile Kasim would avert his gaze from one of them to another, staring in bewilderment and wondering what happened all of a sudden. Shrugging his shoulders –accepting that he will never understand the world of adults- he decided to continue voicing out his thoughts without paying any mind. A specific idea was stuck in his head for a while and he considered it brilliant.

"Hey dad, since you will not marry Scarlet, why don't you marry Zhalia?" the boy asked excited, bringing more discomfort to the atmosphere. Subconsciously the two mentioned adults locked their gazes before shaking their heads and looking away. Kasim thought about his words for a while. His eyes widened upon realizing what he had just said, so he decided to correct his phrase.

"Oh wait no! Don't marry her! When I grow up, we will g back to Saudi Arabia and find –"he couldn't finish his sentence, for Zhalia, put a hand on his mouth and shushed him. Whoever that guy Kasim wanted to mention was, Zhalia didn't want them to find out. The veil of silence fell over them again, interrupted by "um..." sounds of awkwardness. Luckily it didn't last long, because Metz entered the living room.

"It appears my work is finished. Now Dante, you Kasim and Zhalia can join me at my office." he announced and noticed the discomfort in the atmosphere.

"Is everything okay?" he asked them concerned, his head turned to Dante's direction. Dante just shook his head to come back to his senses and nobbed at him.

"Everything is fine Metz we'll join you" he said and gestured Zhalia and Kasim to follow him. They obeyed and exited the living room with Dante and Metz, leaving a confused Montehue and Tersely behind.

Dante walked beside Metz, Kasim and Zhalia right behind them. Zhalia had an emotionless expression, but if you knew her better, you would see a glimpse of discomfort in her eyes. Not just because of what Kasim had said...she just has a bad feeling.. And whenever she has a bad feeling, it usually proves to be a warning sign that something bad is about to happen. Kasim was casually holding Zhalia's hand with a big smile on his lips, his eyes smiling too, with heavenly shades of blue, as he was hoping his way to Metz's office.

Dante was deep in thought, not just because of what happened with Montehue and because he had to find a way to deal with it, but because of what Zhalia said, that genies are celestial beings. What is that supposed to mean. There were so many questions and so many mysterious and interesting things about her, about Kasim, about what happened in Saudi Arabia, about three years ago and he was about to get answers now.

As they reached the entrance of Metz's office, he stopped them before they could get in. Dante noticed a concerned look on his face. He knew that something had happened while he was doing his work, something that affected him and he felt stupid for not realizing it earlier. Metz looked at each of them seriously and took a deep breath.

"Before you get in, I must tell you that there is a visitor whose presence I don't know what reactions it will cause. I would appreciate it if you treat him with respect, considering his position, have I made myself clear?" he announced and eyed them with a serious expression. All of them, even Kasim, seemed to have understood that their visitor is a person of great significance and nobbed, taking Metz as seriously as he spoke to them. Zhalia felt that strange bad feeling again, the closer they got to the door, the stronger it got. Something about that visitor seemed off and when Metz finally opened the door, she understood why.

Both hers and Kasim's jaw dropped as they eyed a muscular dark skinned man, dressed in army attire, with pitch black eyes and black shaved hair to the sides. Two huge cuts were ornamented his left eye and his lips were pursed in a straight line as he got up from where he was previously seated and stood with his back straight, eyeing them emotionlessly.

"Dante, Kasim, Zhalia, this is Major Declan"

* * *

 **A/N: Hello my beloved human beings! How are you all doing in this cold night!...at least it's cold in Greece...**

 **Chap 4 is up, i am sorry i did not reveal much, but you will know more about Zhalia's and Kasim's past in Saudi Arabia in the next chapter.**

 **Do you remember Major Declan, from chap 1? You didn't see him coming did ya? Dante is really in his own world lately huh? What do you think Kasim's power is about (this must be the third time i ask this ^.^)? What will Dante learn tommorow about genies, Saudi Arabia and Kasim? Genies are celestial beings huh...and i apologize to the guest...celestial beings can't have children...at least not in my story ^.^. Will he manage to find a way to approach Zhalia? What is going on in Zhalia's head? Will Dante find out? What is their impression of each other? How was the Montehue part :) ? What the heck is Major Declan doing here? You think he told Metz something?**

 **And last but not least...Have you fallen in love with Kasim yet? ^.^**

 **That's all my sexy beautiful people! Hope you have a wonderfull night...or day, whatever it is in your country..**

 **Lots of love from Irene Rays**


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